Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

[MoonRise]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

I agree with everyone here. Synaptic gets installed first after a fresh install. No ifs, ands or buts about it. Yep, it does bring in a lot of GTK and as long as it isn't mono laden I continue to use it.

[Snowhog]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

/etc/apt/apt.conf doesn't exist in Lucid, although you could build it by hand. But, you can also just use your old friend alias, which I've done in my users .bash_aliases file:

alias installnr='sudo apt-get install --no-install-recommends '

Which of course, is good only when installing from the CLI. But, I do that almost exclusively.

[GreyGeek]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

Good points, DK!

Another change I'd like to see is the addition of another column in the list of files in Synaptic. That column would contain the version of the PREVIOUSLY installed app which one could then select and lock for a downgrade in the cases where an upgraded app breaks something.

[Snowhog]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

If I understand what you asking, Synaptic already has this ability - to lock (readin) any package. Search for the package in question. Click on it and then in the menu bar click on Package and click on Lock Version. This will prevent that package from being upgraded.

[GreyGeek]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

If I understand what you asking, Synaptic already has this ability - to lock (readin) any package. Search for the package in question. Click on it and then in the menu bar click on Package and click on Lock Version. This will prevent that package from being upgraded.

It is easy enough to "pin" an installed package to prevent it from being upgraded.

Have you ever noticed that Kubuntu's Synaptic has only the "Installed Version" and the "Latest Version" of a package listed? Most other distros I've tried that use Synaptic show the previous version of a package, the version you are using now, and the upgrade to your current version. If you upgrade to a package your current version becomes the "previous" version. If you have to downgrade you can select your previous version and install it and pin it.

In Kubuntu, once you replace your current package with the upgrade, the UPGRADE is now the only package listed in Synaptic. Your previous package is not listed so you can't select it to downgrade to and pin. I suspect that repository team is replacing an existing package IN THE REPOSITORY with the UPGRADE, so it may not be possible to pull down the previous package and revert to it.

[Snowhog]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

Okay. I understand now. However, if a package has been updated/upgraded, then that 'history' is retained, and available in Synaptic, and the prior version(s) can be installed.

As an example, search on the package gnome-keyring, then click on it and click on Properties > Versions. You'll see (on my PC) two versions:

2.92.92.is.2.30.1-0ubuntu1 (lucid-updates)
2.92.92.is.2.30.0-0ubuntu3 (lucid)

You'll see at the bottom of the screen, the instructions for installing a version other than the default.

[GreyGeek]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

I am aware of that technique, too. But, in EVERY instance I've looked to the "Versions" tab to find my previously used package, ONLY the current version was listed. In fact, I've never seen any other version listed in the version tab except the current one for any package I needed to revert. Certain Gnome packages seem to be the exception.

[kyonides]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

They could also include Moovida in Kubuntu DVD.

I always use apt-get to install my apps instead of the weird KPackageKit. Since I don't want to install too many GTK+ apps (just in case I find a mono app without any previous warning), I didn't want to use Synaptic, but yes it's a good package manager.

[BigCityCat]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

There are far more changes to 10.10 than some people were saying. I like the changes. Like Aurorea automatically installed. No issues at all. Working great.

[askrieger]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

@BigCityCat:

Aurorea automatically installed

Are you referring to the Arora web browser? If so, it was my (very possibly mistaken) impression that Arora is just a watered down version of the browser portion of Konqueror, since Konq also includes a file manager that puts Dolphin to shame (unless Dolphin has become MUCH more usable since I last tried it). They've just added something else (besides Dolphin) that I don't need and won't use.

[67GTA]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

I would like to see a nice graphical grub like Opensuse. This would complete the whole OS experience. I would also like to see firefox/synaptic as default, but it will never happen. What was the rationale for Kubuntu to be vanilla KDE only? What is the evil in using some GTK apps if there are no QT equivalents? I have bounced back and forth between Kubuntu and Opensuse for a while, but always come back because of apt and multimedia. I have always said that if Opensuse would use apt, it would be the perfect distro.

[Rog131]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

> If wishes were horses, beggars would ride
(few quotes)

More GTK apps + 1 CD = Problems

> little list of proposal for maverick from kubuntu italian users:

...We really cannot add Firefox (well, not without headache anyway) - a CD is
only so large and fitting an application in that is basically coming from a
completely different ecosystem is a rather expensive task. Same applies for
synaptic (which is IMHO from a usability POV just as bad, if not worse) and
the network applet (not to mention that the latter would not integrate into
the system and for example use gnome-keyring even though we have kwallet
already)...

Brainstorms/Wishes/Requests/...

> [kubuntu-devel] brainstorm.kubuntu.org ?:

...ideas for things to do aren't what we are lacking, we tend to be lacking people to implement them...

Maverick will have...
(All plans are subject to revision )

> Kubuntu Maverick Specs
> Kubuntu Todo

[Zhao]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

I have no problems in installing those GTK applications after a Kubuntu install. However since we already have a "kubuntu-firefox-installer", perhaps we could also have a "kubuntu-synaptic-installer" wich would not only install the Synaptic Package Manager but would also do what is suggested here or something similar in order to make Synaptic look good in KDE. Even if we don't get such thing it's no problem, it's still easy to do this manually.

KPackageKit is nice and I can search and read about packages without needing KdeSudo, but for installing and managing them it is limited compared to Synaptic. Software Center is also nice, but does not work on Kubuntu so all it's left is Synaptic. Personally I prefer Synaptic over Software Center, since now I'm addicted to all the nice features I can get in Synaptic

[Yuri sss]

Re: Kubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat) Brainstorm

• QtCurve as default style for Kde and Gnome apps, together with a nice colour scheme, not that ugly grey (ocean blue perhaps, since Kubuntu's colour is blue)
• The following Gnome apps to be installed by default:
  - Gnome network manager (nm-applet). Dsl support in Knetworkmanager is broken, and mobile support is quite wonky.
  - Synaptic, much better than Kpackagekit. (not too fond of Software Centre)
  - Gimp, as there's still no good replacement for it.
• Firefox as default browser, with 64-bit flash rather than that nspluginwrapper crap, and adblock preinstalled. Kwebkitpart as default for Konqueror, for those who use it.
• SMplayer as default media player, together with a mplayer with vaapi support (from here).